Potential therapeutic effects of shrimp protein hydrolysates on NAFLD-induced infertility disorders: Insights into redox balance, heat shock protein expression, and chromatin compaction in male rats

Objective(s): Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is known to disrupt testicular anti-oxidant capacity, leading to oxidative stress (OS) that can negatively affect male fertility by damaging sperm DNA. Heat shock proteins (HSP۷۰ and HSP۹۰), in association with transitional proteins (TP۱ and TP۲), play crucial roles in protecting sperm DNA integrity in oxidative conditions. Whiteleg shrimp protein hydrolysates (HPs) exhibit anti-oxidant properties, prompting this study to explore the potential of HPs in ameliorating NAFLD-induced testicular damage. Materials and Methods: The study divided rats into four groups: control, a group subjected to a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce NAFLD without supplementation, and two HFD-induced NAFLD groups receiving HP doses (۲۰ and ۳۰۰ mg/kg). After ۷۰ days, the testicular total anti-oxidant capacity (TAC), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), glutathione disulfide (GSSG), HSP۷۰-۲a, HSP۹۰ expression, and TP mRNA levels were assessed. Results: The results showed that HFD-induced NAFLD significantly increased GSH and MDA levels and disrupted the GSH/GSSG ratio (P<۰.۰۵) while also reducing HSP۷۰-۲a, HSP۹۰, TP۱, and TP۲ expression (P<۰.۰۵). However, HP administration effectively restored testicular redox balance, reduced oxidative stress, and enhanced these protective proteins’ expression compared to HFD (P<۰.۰۵). Conclusion: NAFLD negatively affects the testicular redox system and HSP and TP expression, disrupting male fertility potential. In contrast, HP-treated rats showed a marked effect on NAFLD-induced damage by improving testicular anti-oxidant status and regulating the expression of HSPs and TP proteins. These findings suggest a potential therapeutic role for HP in safeguarding male fertility against the damaging effects of NAFLD.

کلیدواژه ها:

Heat Shock Protein ، Infertility ، NAFLD ، Oxidative stress ، Protein hydrolysates ، Transitional protein